The manufacture of durable goods in the United States alone accounts for millions of tons of plastics consumption annually. Durable goods are manufactured products capable of long utility which are found in various markets such as the automotive, construction, medical, food and beverage, electrical, appliance, business machine, and consumer markets. Some applications in these markets require the use of flexible polymers or blends thereof with other polymers or with oils. These applications include, but are not limited to, toys, grips, soft touch handles, bumper rub strips, floorings, auto floor mats, wheels, casters, furniture and appliance feet, tags, seals, gaskets such as static and dynamic gaskets, automotive doors, bumper fascia, grill components, rocker panels, hoses, linings, office supplies, seals, liners, diaphragms, tubes, lids, stoppers, plunger tips, delivery systems, kitchen wares, shoes, shoe bladders and shoe soles.
For use in durable goods applications, polymers, or blends thereof with other polymers or oil, desirably possess good processibility (e.g., moldability), appealing appearance (e.g., clear or colorable), suitable surface properties (e.g., good adhesion to substrates, rubber-like feel, non-stickiness and good paintability), and a good combination of mechanical properties (e.g., flexibility, heat resistance, abrasion and/or scratch resistance, toughness, tensile strength, and compression set). Some polymers that possess suitable properties for durable goods include flexible polyvinylchloride (f-PVC), poly(styrene-butadiene-styrene) (SBS), poly(styrene-ethylene/butadiene-styrene) (SEBS), thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPV), thermoplastic poly(urethane) (TPU), and polyolefins such as polyolefin homopolymers and polyolefin interpolymers.
Some polyolefins such as polypropylene (PP) and low density polyethylene (LDPE) have found wide acceptance for use in durable goods applications for their ease of molding, good heat resistance and mechanical properties. Furthermore, many formulations based on blends of polyolefins and other polymers have been developed to meet the demands required by the production of parts of durable goods. For example, a blend of polypropylene and polyethylene can be used to manufacture fibers for artificial turf applications.
Further, some flexible polymers including some polyolefin homopolymers or polyolefin interpolymers may be tacky, which is an undesirable property in some processes or applications. In general, additives such as fatty acid amides, waxes or other non-tacky polymers can be mixed with such flexible polymers to reduce their tackiness. However, such additives are only effective to some degree and are known to have some undesirable properties of their own.
Despite the availability of a variety of polyolefins and their blends, there exists a continuing need for new polymers or new polymer blends that have improved properties and performance characteristics.